He's My Son
by Pearl3
Summary: Songfic! Takes place right after the Buu Saga. Trunks gets the heart virus...what does the rest of the Briefs family do! OOC moments, and even a bit of cutesie in it too! PLZ RR!


DBZ: He's My Son  
By: Pearl  
December 17, 2002  
A/N: This is basically my take on Vegeta and Trunks' relationship. A bit of Kawaii and some OOC moments. Set in a "what if" mode; Trunks gets the dreaded heart virus, and Vegeta can only stand by and watch. There's a catch though....but if I told you, that would ruin the whole fic! Enjoy...  
  
Disclaimer: The show isn't mine (**sniff, sniff**), and the song "He's My Son" belongs to Mark Schultz (who wrote it/sang it).  
  
The Stuff in *** is the song....I'm new with this ff.net loading stuff...I can't get my italics or bold to work!!!!  
  
  
***I'm down on my knees again tonight,  
I'm hoping' this prayer will turn out right.***  
  
Vegeta sighed for the umpteenth time that night. It had an off/on routine. Trunks would scream out in pain, Vegeta or Bulma (or both) would fly into his room, scrambling to ease the pain. Of course, Bulma found herself to always be the first one in the room. She glanced over at her husband, a sigh also slicing into the silence coming from her. The blue-haired genius berated herself mentally; of all times not to have any medicine ready! She made a hasty exit to check on the brewing solution.   
  
Vegeta stared intently at his son...his condition worsening by the hour. He ground his teeth. If there was anything the prince hated, it was not being able to do anything!  
  
***See, there is a boy that needs Your help.  
I've done all that I can do myself***  
  
Vegeta knelt by Trunks' bed, squirming every few seconds for a comfortable position. He awkwardly grabbed Trunks' left hand, bowing his head, softly murmuring a prayer.   
  
***His mother is tired,  
I'm sure You can understand.***  
  
After five minutes or so, Vegeta could hear soft steps coming down the hall. Looking at the position he was in, he quickly leapt back, crossing his arms and acting nonchalant. Bulma walked into the room, half-expecting her son to give her a huge smile and tell her that everything was going to be alright. No such luck...  
  
Another sigh escaped her lips as she silently sat on the edge of the bed, reaching for her son's hand. Black circles were evident under her eyes; the lack of sleep hung in the air. Vegeta left the room, needing to quench the uneasy thirst that had reached his throat.  
  
***Each night as he sleeps  
She goes in to hold his hand,  
And she tries  
Not to cry  
As the tears fill her eyes.***  
  
Bulma felt hot tears invade her eyes. Her vision blurred as she furiously wiped them away, not wanting her husband or son to know that she nearly cried. 'No, I can't cry, not now...' She glanced at the clock...eleven o'clock...she groaned, knowing that she had promised everyone that she would try and get some sleep. 'Just five more minutes.'  
  
  
(Outside Capsule Corp.)  
  
The quick trip to the kitchen ended up in the front lawn of Capsule Corp. Vegeta leaned back against a tree, eyes closed, water bottle in hand. The pressure of the day seemed to wear down the most at night. Most people would've found someone to talk to, someone to just let loose all feelings with. But not the Prince of the Saiyans. He never thought of himself as a "people person", nor did he ever want to be one. He could confide in himself, thank you very much...  
  
Yet it baffled him time and time again that a simple illness, a virus, could bring down the strongest of warriors. The heart virus had brought down Kakarot, and now his own son! The same boy who, with the help of Goten, took on Majin Buu without a second thought.   
  
Pent up frustration caused Vegeta to hiss. He threw the water bottle to one side, then clenched his fists till his knuckles turned white. "WHY?!" He screamed into the night air. "Why my son? What has he ever done?! HE'S JUST A LITTLE BOY!! IF YOU WANTED TO PUNISH SOMEONE, GOD, WHY NOT ME??" He looked up into the sky. "I'm the one who killed millions, destroyed planets...I even turned on my own family!"   
  
***Can You hear me?  
Am I getting through tonight?  
Can You see him?  
Can You make him feel all right?  
If You can hear me  
Let me take his place some how.  
See, he's not just anyone, he's my son.***  
  
The prince sighed in defeat, placing his hands on the ground, bowing his head slightly. "Please God, don't take Trunks away from us..." Vegeta slowly got up, muscles aching from the extreme training he had done lately. He walked towards the back door, finally reaching it after what seemed like an eternity.  
  
The stairway leading to the second floor was not lit, but he preferred to leave it alone. Vegeta turned to the first room on the right, finding the door slightly open. He opened it further, peering in to check on his son.  
  
***Sometimes late at night I watch him sleep,***  
  
The lone figure grabbed the near-by rocking chair, bringing it up to the small bed. He rested his head back, being lulled to sleep by the soft sounding radio on the other side of the room. The prince closed his eyes, a sort of flashback playing out in his mind.  
  
***I dream of the boy he'd like to be.***  
  
(Flashback)  
"So Trunks, what do you wanna be when you grow up?" Asked Krillin, looking at the 4-year-old birthday boy. "I wanna be a strong prince like my daddy," he giggled, watching a proud look come across his father's features. "Is that so?" Krillin asked, eyeing the lavender-haired boy. "YUP!"  
  
***I try to be strong and see him through,  
But God, who he needs right now is You.***  
  
(Flashback)  
"Ugh, dad I can't do this!"  
"Can't is not in my vocabulary boy. Now, stop being such a weakling! Only 200 more push-ups to go, and we'll be done for the day."  
"Dad, I'm just not as strong as you! Don't you understand?" Trunks looked at him with hurt in his blue eyes. "If you don't try, you'll never be as strong as I am. Let's begin!"  
  
  
(Present time)  
"Dad?" A weak voice shook Vegeta out of his thoughts. He looked over at Trunks, whose eyes were trained intently on him.   
  
***Let him grow old,***  
  
"Dad, I'm---I'm scared..." He looked down at the blankets shamefully.   
"Scared of what Trunks," Vegeta asked.  
"I don't wanna die yet." Vegeta grimaced at the words. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees.   
  
***Live life without this fear.***  
  
"Trunks, you're not going to die---"  
"But---"  
  
"Let me finish! I know what you mean: you aren't afraid of dying, you just don't want to die yet. Am I correct?" Trunks nodded, lavender hair swaying as he did so. "And I'm telling you that you're not going to die. Your mother is making the medicine, and it should be done soon. Ok?"  
  
Trunks nodded again, slowly this time. His eyes opened wide, and he shot straight up, wincing as he held the left side of his chest. Vegeta stood up, not sure of what to do. Trunks hissed, leaning against the headboard. His chest heaved up and down, sweat trickled down his cheek.  
  
***What would I be  
Living without him here?***  
  
"D-Dad?" Trunks asked in a much weaker voice.  
"Yes, son?" Vegeta sat back down in the rocking chair.  
"Could you...can you..."  
"What?"  
  
Trunks' cheeks flushed beet red, his eyes looking everywhere but his father. "Could you rock me to sleep?" Vegeta blinked a few times. "Sure," he said, after an awkward silence. Trunks looked up, the redness dispersing into a soft pink color. He crawled over to his father, who then picked him up and set him on his lap.  
  
The nine-year-old boy leaned back against the crook of Vegeta's shoulder. Vegeta grabbed a blanket, covering Trunks' with it, then supported Trunks' back with his arm, bringing his free hand to clasp his other arm around the boy.  
  
***He's so tired,  
And he's scared  
Let him know that You're there.***  
  
Forward and back. Forward and back. The swift yet gentle motions lulled the child to sleep, his eyelids drooping shut over his tired eyes. Not even the creaking that accompanied the moving chair disturbed him.   
  
***Can You hear me?  
Am I getting through tonight?  
Can You see him?  
Can You make him feel all right?***  
  
Vegeta looked down at his son. Sure, the hair and eye color may have come from Bulma, but the facial features and body-build came directly from his father. He sure was proud of Trunks, but at the same time, it hurt to even look at the boy. His heart ached and screamed. Vegeta would do anything to trade places with Trunks.  
  
***If You can hear me  
Let me take his place some how.  
See, he's not just anyone, he's my son.***  
  
The flamed-haired prince let out the breath that he had been practically holding all day. He continued to rock back and forth, now just doing it out of habit, not even a train of thought went into it. Trunks continued to sleep, he breathing labored, and Vegeta feared that he could even hear some liquid in his rhythmic patterns. Trunks' ki wavered slightly, causing Vegeta's eyes to open in alarm, but it went back to it's normal dormant reading. Vegeta could only hope, and continued to pray...  
  
***Can You hear me?  
Am I getting through tonight?  
Can You see him?  
Can You make him feel all right?  
If You can hear me  
Let me take his place somehow.  
See, he's not just anyone...***  
  
Coughing...the distinct sound of coughing jostled the prince out of his sleep. He opened his eyes and saw Trunks sitting up, coughing hard. Vegeta placed a hand on his back, rubbing small circles to help calm the boy down. Blue-eyes looked up in shock, until a sheepish look passed over his face.  
  
"Sorry," he whispered fiercely. "I didn't mean to wake you up."  
"With all that coughing I'm surprised that you didn't wake the dead," Vegeta replied, a smirk gracing his features. Trunks let a small smile come across his face.  
  
***Can You hear me?  
Can You see him?***  
  
Vegeta reclined back, Trunks doing the same. "Try to get back to sleep. The better rested you are, the sooner you can go over to Kakarot's house and play with Kako-clone." Vegeta was relieved to hear his son giggle, something he hadn't done in nearly a week. "Dad," he whined, "stop calling Goten that!"  
"Well, that's what he is. An exact duplicate of Kakarot is all the earth needs right now. Two bakas..." Trunks continued to laugh, until it turned into another coughing fit.  
  
"Perhaps I should leave and let you---"  
"No, dad **cough, cough** , please don't go. Can't you just stay with me tonight? Rock me back to sleep again? I don't want to be alone right now. Please?" Trunks looked up at Vegeta with those big blue eyes, Bulma's eyes. How could the prince refuse?  
  
***Please don't leave him,***  
  
"Very well then," he replied, settling back into the chair. Covers ruffled, and the boys assumed their previous sleeping position.  
"Thanks dad."  
"Yeah, yeah."  
  
"Oh, and dad?"  
"Hmm?"  
"I love you." Trunks buried himself deeper into the blankets and Vegeta's arms.  
  
Vegeta smiled a genuine smile and ruffled his son's hair. He looked down at his son with father's pride, and watched Trunks smile back at him as he said the three words that he had been waiting his entire life for...  
  
"I love you too, Trunks."  
  
***He's my son.***  
  
  
A/N: Well, that went much better than I expected. I can't decide whether or not to do a second part. Should I? Oh, and I accomplished the best thing! This fic only took me one day to write! YAY! No long drawn out sequences! YES!!!! GO ME!!!! Oh yeah...that catch wasn't really big, just Vegeta goin through this whole "why Trunks?" kinda thing, and the fact that there was no medicine around. So I need you guys to tell me whether I should continue this or not....the second part, if there is one, may or may not be a song fic. Well, I g2g! TTYL! R + R, constructive criticism welcome...plz, no flames! 


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